Keeping our skills fresh is a big part of being an EMT or a fireman.The gruff man who first let me look around the ambulance has been with the fire department for forty-five years. His name is Charlie Pfhal, and he has turned out to be an amazement and an inspiration to me. He is a tough old bird, speaks his mind, will nail a liar or a bull-shit artist within ten seconds. And although he is edging his way toward eighty, he still drives the ambulance and runs the EMT side of the firehouse.He and Bernice are the driving force for the EMTs at Georgetown and they are always trying to get the name of the firehouse changed from Georgetown Fire Company to Georgetown Fire and EMS. The firemen hate this idea, they feel it disrupts the unity of the firehouse for EMTs to be separated out, and this ongoing simmering feud periodically erupts into fights, harsh words, and stubborn behavior.You can see the tension at the Monday-night drills. The EMTs want to practice EMT things, like using the suction unit in the rig, finessing the defibrillator, wrapping wounds, and splinting fractures.
